Yes, but he skated only the sp and got that bye. What about the fs bye as he is not competing at TEB?

The bye doesn't look at whether you completed both segments of the competition, it's whether you were at a competition close/on the competition there. He was at COR right before Eastern sectionals, so the bye still stands.

Does anyone know why he is withdrawing? Is he injured? What is injured? How bad is the injury? Or is this that infamous injury "coldfeetitis" which coincidentally strikes people making comebacks? There is no real evidence other than so many skaters get injured coming back and delay their reentry or never come back at all. Of course, it could be just a coincidence and not a sociological trend.

I agree galina is not right for Johnny tho I loved many of Victor's pro programs. Johnny is stale and his Gaga is a retread. Also agree they look like show programs, not CoP. I think it is hard for someone to step out of the limelight gracefully and move on. Even MK fans felt 2004 Tosca was her last great skate and pushing thru injury to 2006 was only about the Oly medal, and with the rapid rise of Arakawa and the possibility of Irina and Sasha medalling-it was not likely even MK would have podiumed. Johnny may have a somewhat consistent quad, or not, but he is a nervous competitor.

It is always about attention with Johnny. I like Gaga's original piece of music-orchestrations of so-so pop don't always make good sp. But he has done these show prorams so many times to her music. I think Nationals will be his final swan song, as it was for Sasha. He skated beautifully in Vancouver-pure Johnny. It seems that he should have moved on with a very nice skate-even though it was more 6.0 in composition. He has fame, what more?

I think Galina is stale. And Johnny was given the music by Lady Gaga who is a personal favorite of his. That can be heady stuff when a big celebrity wants you to use her music. But I totally agree that it's a retread....especially without the makeup and weird costume (which thank GOD he did not subject us to in competition) I don't mean to keep defending him but skating beautifully in Vancouver sure didn't get him anything. I can see why he felt he wasn't finished. I think he got robbed. Not saying he should have got a medal but at least 4th would have made more sense to me. The composition of his programs and transitions, etc. are pretty much all on the choreographer and coach. I think Johnny has some great skating left in him. I wish wish wish he had moved to another coach with a little more current skating knowledge. To me Galina is a 6.0 coach!

I don't think Galina takes coaching Johnny all that seriously. If you saw the fluff of Baiul training under her, Galina coached her with an iron fist. She controlled every aspect of her training, choreography, and competition preparation. I think Johnny has a lot more control of the coaching situation, and Galina seems happy to help him out.

Possibly - but how many years ago was Oksana Baiul? 1994? That's 18 years ago. And Galina is in her early 60's I think. You have alot more fire in you at the age of 38 or so than you do at 62. Just saying. I'm not dismissing the concept that she's just in it for the money, but to hear Johnny talk she bosses him around pretty good. In any case - a change would have been nice.

I'm sorry but I remain confused....I understand that Weir didn't finish CoR and now has withdrawn from France. So my confusion is....does he now loose his bye to nationals? Thanks in advance!

Regulation 2515 (a) + (b) states that a bye to National is given when:

B. The competitor is assigned to and competes in a singles, pairs and/or ice dance event in an international competition; and
C. The competition mentioned in (B) conflicts with the competitor’s sectional championships.

So yes, no doubt that Johnny Weir was assigned to COR, which conflicted with Eastern Sectionals. The question is whether completing just the SP in said competition counts. I say it was because he did travel to the competition and tried to compete in good faith at COR. (It might have been different if he withdrew from the competition beforehand)....

I agree galina is not right for Johnny tho I loved many of Victor's pro programs. Johnny is stale and his Gaga is a retread. Also agree they look like show programs, not CoP. I think it is hard for someone to step out of the limelight gracefully and move on. Even MK fans felt 2004 Tosca was her last great skate and pushing thru injury to 2006 was only about the Oly medal, and with the rapid rise of Arakawa and the possibility of Irina and Sasha medalling-it was not likely even MK would have podiumed. Johnny may have a somewhat consistent quad, or not, but he is a nervous competitor.

It is always about attention with Johnny. I like Gaga's original piece of music-orchestrations of so-so pop don't always make good sp. But he has done these show prorams so many times to her music. I think Nationals will be his final swan song, as it was for Sasha. He skated beautifully in Vancouver-pure Johnny. It seems that he should have moved on with a very nice skate-even though it was more 6.0 in composition. He has fame, what more?

Does anyone know his LP music?

In the article, Johnny discusses his long program for this season:

"The free is called 'Phoenix' and its pieces are by the group Escala ['Sarabande' and 'Requiem'] and violinist Edvin Marton [a Chopin selection]. I chose music I love and am inspired by. They are classics, but the way we've arranged the program nobody will think, 'Oh, I've seen this before.'"

Well, we have talked of his skating, how about his affect if any on how skating is perceived. I do not have any problem with his orientation, as as the saying Goes he was born that way, and God loves all his kids. But do you think Johnny should continue being so flamboyant? His Sp costume was toned down but still effeminate. Does Johnny help or hurt popularity of FS? It seems he has a large fan base, and I am not sure if that means he is well liked generally or in skating centers like NYC where there are 10 million very independent type people. My city would be parochial to a New Yorker, and deprssing I am sure. I don't get there so I don't really know "New York."

Is Johnny a plus or a minus now to a sport that is very small indeed in the USA at elite level. We have two comeback kids, one flashy as all getout, the other very conservative (except for the vera snake outfit.) who is well liked by the USFSA and respected generally by most skate fans if not loved. We have Adam Rippon, a beautiful stylist, who can't compete well. He dresses consrvatively -for a skater- and we have Jeremy, who is a very artistic being. We have Dornbush and Miner who are not out there with the clothes etc. I just wonder how people feel Johnny plays to the average skate fan looking for skating on TV-plus or minus? I think some of his outfits and his reality show may have given people an idea that is false, that most figureskaters are gay. I think this is not true over time and cultures, but my question is, does this matter anymore? Skating has so many critics who think it is a pageant with skimpy costumes. I don't know many people who care that skating is dying, the way we do on this and other boards.

And I wonder how he will be received at Nationals given his SP and the injury withdrawal. I sorta don't believe the injury thing as it is used when people are bombing on ice too frequently. I seem to think Johnny has lost his cache as the crazy guy with the out there quotes. He is a married man now and he seems much quieter, even dull compared to the very un PC Johnny that appealed to a lot of skate fans and folks in general. Your thoughts on his affect on mens skating in USA? Good , bad, or no real effect?

thanks Daisy, I agree with what you feel. His prograams are quite empty by CoP standards. I did love his skate in vancouver, and I guess it was fair when there are no difficult transitions and easy footwork. But what do you feel about his influence on the skating world as a person, and his insistence on outre outfits and his posing in tights and heel, barechested with a pompadour? It seems all that got him disliked by the USFSA, then they seemed to welcome him back. Are they desperate for interest in nationals? I recall what jaime sale felt about his Russian team jackets etc.

Does Johnny portray a persona that attracts new possible fans or has he pushed them away? I realize without a poll, it would be hard to know. I can guess that many would find Trump boorish without a poll, even in NYC where anything goes, but how has Johnny affected US skating and families who think maybe skating would be good for their kid? My guess is people are now so blase since TV/internet have are saturated with non-family entertainment, my own opinion is Johnny is pretty irrelevant, and has gotten his 15 minutes of fame with shock value. I think his fan base will dwindle quite quickly. why would he get more reality shows if he cannot get to another olympics? There does not seem much interest here on GS. I think that is very telling about him becoming a has been-D listed in 2013. But I don't live in NYC. maybe he aand hubby are quite in demand. i wouldn't know.

i see him gone from skating after Nationals, and losing his fan base as he is not able to skate with the top men. i.e the comeback is a flop in more ways than one.

Does Johnny portray a persona that attracts new possible fans or has he pushed them away? I realize without a poll, it would be hard to know.

I think his participation is good for engaging the LGBT community. There aren't a lot of sports in which an openly gay athlete reaches the highest levels so I'm sure he is a role model for those who want to undertake an athletic endeavor and also be who they are. He had his own show on the LOGO channel (the LGBT cable channel here in the US) so that increased both his and the sport's visibility. And I think while some people may be turned off by him, they aren't turned off by skating in general. So it seems like a net positive to me.

I just hope he doesn't pout if he receives low scores for his empty programs because I'd hate for those in the LGBT community to think his low scores are because the judges have a problem with him being gay. Now that I know more about COP, and see the programs that score well, I realize his skating isn't suited to this judging system very much.

I think there will be no Nationals. Or again another withdrawal after another poorly skated SP (but if he somehow manages to skate a clean program and still gets poor marks - undoubtedly the marks are gonna be poor, his programs are empty - then we will hear many talks about politics, homophobia, etc., same as after Vancouver).

The problem with Johnny is that he doesn't possess a mindset of an athlete, he's not competitor. And he's not interested in winning, it seems. I have an impression that of the sport, he wants fame, whirling in TV-shows saying so-called "outrageous" things, getting attention, glamour, sparky costumes, and applauses in big arenas, and other things like that. Same things he seems to be wanting out of fashion, too. He doesn't want nor to work neither to compete. I think he managed pretty good to get the most out of life with the least of work, thanks to his talent.

As for his costumes, etc. - I think he would be very entertaining if he skated well. "Outrageous" press conferences, heels and his costumes would be much fun if there were any medals. Only champions have impact or effect on anybody or anything, in my opinion.